Last year at the April Leadership Summit, I announced that 2014 was “The Year of Training & Development”. I did this as our annual research indicated that developing individuals was a top challenge. Our 2015 research is almost completed and I will offer a sneak preview. Leaders rated training and development their number one challenge and frontline reps ranked it their second challenge…talk about a correlated issue between reps and leaders – wow!

This brief note will focus on developing tomorrow’s leaders. Let me start by saying we have a huge gap between job openings and qualified candidates to fill them at the mid to senior levels. I am bombarded with recruiter calls each month looking for candidates. Recently, a company was forced to actually lower the level of an inside sales leadership opening from SVP to VP because they could not find any candidates after searching for 9 months! And the problem is only getting worse as our profession sees unprecedented growth at all levels. To further make my point, a Fortune 50 firm contacted me recently asking for referrals to fill a position at an executive level heading up inside sales which reports directly to the COO…yep, Fortune 50!

I urge all leaders reading this note to minimally consider the following best practices:

Draft a strategic plan to develop individuals to either assume management roles or to move from Manager to Director to VP.

Get all of your potentials into the AA-ISP Mentor Program. It’s a great way for less experienced managers to interact with more senior level leaders.

Consider leadership training. There are some high-quality programs available from frontline management to more senior leadership development through some top universities.

Enroll in the AISM™ Leadership Accreditation Program and get your management team enrolled! Administered by the AA-ISP, there is no other program like it available to our profession. It covers progressive, inside sales-specific leadership courses and practicums such as Performance Management, Rewards & Recognition, Compensation Plan Design, Selling the Value of Inside Sales, to name just a few.

Finally, be sure to attend the next AA-ISP Executive Briefing: Developing the Next Generation of Inside Sales Leaders, on Thursday March 26th, at 2:00 PM EST. The briefing will cover research, findings, and discussion surrounding the challenges facing our profession. Topics include The Leadership Gap, Training and Development best practices, AISM™ Accreditation, and a Q&A session with presenters.